Conviction of Character
by Shadow Mage Evelyn
Summary: When Edward Elric is held in prison and accused of attempting to murder someone, Colonel Roy Mustang must call in a favor from an old friend...
1. Chapter 1

**Conviction of Character**

**A Fullmetal Alchemist fanfiction**

**Written by Shadow Mage Evelyn**

**A.N.—This story stars a slew of original fan characters I created to run around in the world of FMA. Any of the recognizable characters belong to Hiromu Arakawa. Any of the others whom you don't recognize belong to me, Shadow Mage Evelyn. **

**Enjoy!**

**PART ONE**

"Guess what?"

Lieutenant Colonel Neo Kaichi looked up from the book he was reading. His second-in-command, First Lieutenant Arilyn Curtis stood in front of his desk with a file folder in her hand and a small smile on her lips.

"What?" he asked.

"We've got a case," she said. Neo made a face and went back to his novel, not moving from his reclining position, feet crossed up on his desk.

"Did some Colonel's kid get arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated again?" he said sardonically. Arilyn's smirk grew.

"Nope. Better. You're gonna like this one."

Neo peered dubiously over the rim of his glasses at her as she slapped the folder down on the desktop.

"This was sent from a friend calling in a favor."

"Oh?" Neo asked, reaching for the folder. "Who?"

She paused as he opened the folder and began to scan the opening pages.

"One Colonel Roy Mustang. Seems his pet protégé has landed himself in a bit of a spot and he requires your aid."

Neo raised an eyebrow, the only sign of surprise he would ever emote. He looked up at Arilyn, who only grinned.

"I told you you'd like it," she said, heading for the door. "Train leaves in an hour. I'll get the car."

* * *

The door to the bull pen of Eastern Command swung open with a loud bang as Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist pounded through it, a stern look on his face and a determined step in his long stride. There was a look in his dark eyes that had many subordinates scurrying to get out of his way. The Colonel was mad, and no one wanted to be in the way when he was on the warpath.

"Lieutenant, what's our status on legal? Have we heard anything back from them?" he asked, his normally deep voice even deeper in his ire.

"No, sir," said Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye, one step behind her commanding officer.

"Well then someone get on the phone and light the fire under their asses before I do!" he boomed, the double meaning to that statement not lost on anyone in the room. When the Colonel pointed at two young officers, they visibly flinched.

"You two! Get on the phone with legal and get something accomplished! Now!"

With two timid _yes sir!_s, the two officers scrambled away as fast as their legs would carry them, just thankful to be out from under the Colonel's furious gaze.

Warrant Officer Vato Falman suddenly appeared just as the Colonel was about to walk into his office, a piece of paper in hand.

"Colonel, I have something you need to know abou—"

"Not right now, Falman," the Colonel said. "What I need you to do is show me where we are on the jury."

"But, sir, it's really of the utmost importance that you—"

"_Later, Falman!"_

Ignoring anything else that Falman was trying to say, the Colonel entered his office.

He was thoroughly unprepared to see the back of his own chair and even more stunned to see it turn around and reveal Lieutenant Colonel Neo Kaichi perched within. He gave a smug smirk to the Colonel.

"Quite a place you've got here, Mustang. Much better than my little hole in the world back at Southeast."

Roy frowned deeply.

"…Lieutenant Colonel Neo Kaichi is here to see you, sir," Falman said. Roy glared at him while Neo's smirk widened.

"I think he knows that, Warrant Officer, thank you," said the blonde haired man in the Colonel's chair.

Falman cleared his throat and saluted Neo briefly before leaving the room. As soon as he was gone, the Colonel turned the full power of his glare on Neo, who didn't seem to notice it. However, Neo's smug grin vanished and he leaned forward on the desk, hands folding before him, a keen, businesslike light in his eyes.

"Hell of a favor to call me in on, Mustang."

"I know," Roy replied, equally as serious. Neo studied him for a moment before idly straightening some of the papers on the desk in front of him, and then returned his eyes to Roy.

"This would have eventually wound up on my desk anyway. Why would you send it directly to me?"

The shadows on Roy's face seemed to grow darker and the storm in his dark eyes grew more violent.

"It would have taken too long if sent through the proper channels. I don't want him sitting in that place all that time. He…"

Neo could see the underlying concern in the way Roy clenched his jaw.

"…he has something very important to do," the Colonel finished. "He can't afford to be kept from it."

There was something Roy wasn't telling him, Neo knew. He knew, too, that Roy wouldn't reveal it if he didn't feel it was pertinent or if it wasn't his place to reveal such a thing. With a sigh, Neo rose out of Roy's chair and moved around to stand in front of the desk. At the same time, Roy moved past him and took his place in his chair, reclaiming his space from his lower-ranking counterpart. Neo, meanwhile, put his hands in his pants pockets, turning to face Roy again.

"You care about him a lot…don't you?" he said. He'd tacked that last part on out of courtesy, Roy could tell. He wasn't really asking. The Colonel looked up at the other man.

"He's very important to the field of alchemy and to my offices," he replied with an underlining tone of sarcasm. Neo just smirked at that, and then sobered his expression.

"This is one hell of a favor you're asking me for, Mustang."

"You said that already," the Colonel replied idly, scrawling his name onto some paperwork. He looked up a moment later and locked gazes with Neo's jade-colored eyes.

"I trust you to do what you do best," he added. The two men stared at one another a moment longer before Neo broke the gaze to turn for the door.

"I'll be expecting something big in return, Mustang," he said, opening the door and pausing only to toss a smirk Roy's way. "Something very big and very shiny."

"Get the job done, Lieutenant Colonel," Roy said darkly, not fond of the idea of owing this one anything. Neo just grinned and then strode calmly out of the office.

Arilyn magically appeared at his side.

"Where to now, sir?" she asked, brown eyes glancing over at her superior officer. Neo slid his hands into his pockets and headed towards the exit.

"The East City Prison, Lieutenant. It's about time we met our suspect face-to-face."

* * *

The military policeman who opened the gated door for Neo was a very somber, stolid character of impressive build and height who offered to the Lieutenant Colonel and his subordinate a brief token of advice before they entered the small hall beyond.

"Watch yourselves in there. I hear this one's got quite a temper."

Neo nodded but moved past the man, seemingly unconcerned. It took 10 full strides to get him to the door of a small, dim room. The only source of light in the room came from the long window on the wall to Neo's right. It was roughly 3 feet in height and 6 feet in length and the bottom frame sat roughly at the height of Neo's waist.

A single man occupied the room and he greeted Neo and Arilyn with a handshake. He was roughly 50 years of age, with a strong grip and keen blue eyes. Crinkles in the corners of his eyes and mouth bespoke of a face more prone to smiles than frowns. The expression on his face at the moment was rather serious, though.

"Good to see you again, Neo," he said as he shook Neo's hand firmly.

"Likewise, Colonel Cooper. It's been too long, sir."

Cooper waved a hand.

"How many times to I have to tell you to call me Hank, Neo?"

Neo smirked.

"Probably a few more, sir."

Cooper smiled at him, but then promptly smoothed out his expression.

"Well, I have to say, I'm glad you're taking over this case. No one wants to see this one end badly."

"Yes, I know," Neo said as he and Cooper turned to look through the window—which wasn't actually a window, but a one-way mirror.

"Cases like this get a lot more complicated when it involves a minor. Even more sticky when the minor involved is the suspect."

Cooper nodded gravely, causing both men to fall silent as Neo studied the figure sitting on the other side of the mirror.

At first glance, he was nothing impressive. He bore a small and compact frame, made only smaller by the ill-fitting prison garb he wore. What struck Neo was the level of calm in his body language. He wasn't fidgeting about or shifting around in his chair, nor were his eyes darting about in fear or nervousness. The way his penetrating, too-intelligent eyes moved about the room in a steady, calculating sort of way made it appear to Neo as if he were rationalizing to himself the reasons he'd been brought to this place rather than trying to concoct some kind of bogus story as to why he was innocent. Dark circles under his eyes and the way he sat forward over the table, shoulders slightly hunched indicated that he felt ill at ease with his current predicament. He shifted suddenly in his chair, revealing the heavy wooden shackles that restrained his wrists, keeping his hands nearly 8 inches apart. The light glinted dully off the metal of his right hand, confirming his identity to the three who observed him unseen.

At nearly 16 years of age, the military's youngest officer to date, the Fullmetal Alchemist Edward Elric had spent the last three days sitting alone in a prison cell on charges of trespassing, breaking and entering and felonious assault.

But the charge that had Roy Mustang so riled up; the one that had Hank Cooper's face so somber and serious; the charge that had fetched Neo Kaichi from Southeast Headquarters to come here to the East City Prison and investigate the matter was the charge of attempted murder.

"Welp…" said Neo, breaking the silence. He took a moment to pour himself a cup of coffee from the small pot on the table propped against the wall to the right of the one way mirror and sipped it quietly for a second before retrieving the file folder Arilyn was holding and tucking it under his left arm. His slide his left hand into his pocket and put his back to the door of the room, pushing it open about 6 inches.

"Time for me to go to work," he finished, and with that, he left the room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Conviction of Character**

**A Fullmetal Alchemist fanfiction**

**Written by Shadow-Mage-Evelyn 2009**

**PART TWO**

Edward looked up when the door to the room opened and a man he didn't recognize walked in. The man was of an unassuming height and build with green eyes, square glasses, and blonde hair held in a ponytail that went all the way down his back. A file folder was tucked under his left arm and in his right hand he held a paper cup.

"Hello," the man greeted with an easy smile. "How are you doing?"

"Fine," Edward replied. "Who are you?"

The man set down his cup of coffee and the file folder before pulling out the chair across the table from Edward and sitting down.

"I'm Lieutenant Colonel Neo Kaichi from Southeast Command. I'm the head of Internal Investigations."

"Edward Elric," Edward replied. "You knew Maes Hughes?"

"Met him a few times. Good man. Shame what happened to him. Internal Investigations is a little different than the Investigations Department that Brigadier General Hughes worked for, though."

"Oh?"

"Yup. We only investigate cases dealing with members of the military. Anytime a soldier gets involved in a crime, we get sent in to look into the case before handing it to Legal."

"Which is why you're here."

There was a dark note in Edward's voice when he said that, but it did little to diminish the genial smile on Neo's face.

"Which is why I'm here," he agreed, opening the file folder. "So. Edward Elric. You'll be sixteen come February, huh?"

"Yes."

"Code name: Fullmetal. You have a brother, it says. Older or younger?"

"He's a year younger than me."

"Alphonse is his name, right?"

Edward nodded. Neo noticed he was getting tense about this subject, but he pressed on.

"Says here you've been researching bio-alchemy for the last four years."

Another wordless nod. Neo sensed there was more to it than that, but didn't pry.

"Hmm. You come highly recommended, and why not? Your scores on the State Alchemy exam are extremely high. One could almost call you a genius."

"I'm no genius," Edward replied in an almost automated manner. "I had a good teacher and learned a few hard lessons."

"Mmhmm, mmhmm…"

Neo squinted at him for a moment.

"How did you lose your arm?"

Edward's lips tightened to two thin pink lines, but he was careful to keep his gaze locked on Neo's.

"War injury. When the Ishbalans came through my hometown."

"Mmmm, yeah. Resembool was hit pretty hard by that war."

"Were you in it?"

Neo nodded, sipping on his coffee.

"Yeah. I was actually assigned to the Resembool area during the war. Most of my unit was killed in the attacks."

Sympathy appeared in Edward's eyes, but Neo waved it away with his hand.

"It's not like I lost any friends or anything. I wasn't really close to anyone in my unit to begin with. I'm a bit of a loner, you might say. My best friends are books."

Edward smirked at that while Neo arranged some of the papers in the folder out before him and then folded his arms on the table top, looking at Edward.

"Okay…well…enough chit chat. Let's talk about this case."

Edward's mouth hardened again.

"Says here in an eyewitness statement that you broke into the house of Doctor Malcolm Wilson at around 4:30 a.m. two days ago and attempted to stab him in his sleep with a carving knife. When he fought you off, you continued to attack him before you were subdued by his son who held you until Military Police could arrive and make the arrest."

"I didn't do it," Edward blurted suddenly. Neo smirked and tapped one of the papers with his forefinger.

"I have three eyewitness statements that say otherwise. Not to mention your own confession to Military Police on the morning of your arrest."

Edward sat back in his seat impatiently, his temper showing.

"Yeah, okay, I was there, but I didn't try to kill anybody."

"Because you're not that kind of person, yadda yadda yadda," Neo chimed in with a bored tone and making his hand move like a puppet's mouth, as if mimicking the youth. He then propped that hand against his chin and looked at Edward in an unimpressed way.

"I've heard it all before."

"It's true!" Edward protested.

"If you didn't try to kill anybody, what were you doing there at 4:30 a.m.?"

For a moment, Edward sputtered, his eyes darting wildly for a moment before they finally returned to Neo's face and he slumped down in his chair in defeat.

"I…I don't know…" he answered in a subdued voice.

"Theft, maybe?"

"No!"

The youth bit down on his anger.

"Nothing like that," he finished with restraint.

"Then what were you doing there?"

"I don't know!"

"You don't know? You're being charged for attempted murder and felonious assault, and you don't know what you were doing at the Wilson house at 4:30 in the morning?"

"Yes."

"These are not light charges, kid. These are very serious crimes you're being accused of."

"You think I don't know that?!"

"I'm sure you do, which is why you're going to have to come up with something better than 'I don't know'."

He watched the young man bite off a furious retort and instead slump back into his seat.

"I'm telling the truth."

Neo visibly rolled his eyes.

"You and the 1000 other criminals who come in here every day."

Anger crackled through the young man's tawny yellow eyes.

"I'm not a criminal."

"That's not what this report is saying."

"Well the report is wrong! And so are your witnesses!! I was there, but I don't know how I got there, and I didn't try to kill anyone!! All I remember is being on the floor of the room with someone sitting on me for a few minutes before the MPs rushed in and hauled me off to jail!!"

"Uh huh, sure."

Edward wrenched his body sideways in his chair with an aggravated snarl, clenching his jaw and glaring furiously at the wall in front of him. His whole body was tense with anger and frustration. Neo watched him silently for a few minutes, drinking his coffee.

He sat back in his chair a moment later, crossing his arms.

"You been sleeping poorly?"

Edward snapped an incredulous glance over to him, but Neo pointed at his face before he could spit out a disbelieving retort.

"There are noticeable dark circles under your eyes, that's why I ask. Is something keeping you awake at night?"

"I sleep," Edward interrupted in a flat tone.

"But do you sleep _well_ is what I'm asking."

"I sleep just fine for an innocent guy wrongly locked up!!" the youth snapped impatiently. He returned his gaze to the wall and moved his left hand around in its restraint. Neo studied the wooden shackles for a moment.

"Those have to be uncomfortable," he said.

"They're fine," Edward replied in a quietly annoyed tone. He had no idea where Neo was going with this bizarre conversation; none of these things had anything to do with the case.

"I can't imagine they're very comfortable to sleep with, what with those hard edges and sharp corners. Is it true you can transmute with just a clap of your hands?"

"Yes," the youth replied, ever more annoyed.

"Really? That's interesting. I thought most alchemists have to draw circles in order to transmute anything. Of course, I'm no alchemist so I guess I—"

"What does any of this have to do with the case?!" Edward finally burst out. Neo shrugged, slouching in his seat and slipping his hands into his pockets.

"Nothing. Just making idle conversation."

"Well, could we just get back to the interrogation?! You're a lot less annoying that way."

Neo had to grin at that. The kid had gumption.

"Alright, fine. You say you don't remember how you got to the house?"

"Right."

"What's the last thing you remember before you were on the floor of the room?"

The youth paused for a few moments, and Neo could see the wheels turning as he strained to pull up his memory. Edward looked up at the ceiling for a moment, squinting at one of the three lamps overhead.

"I remember going to bed that night and then…something…"

Here the youth frowned.

"I think something woke me up, but…I'm not really sure."

Neo stared at him curiously.

"I vaguely remember waking up before going back to sleep. Only…"

He paused, staring hard at the table. His expression was caught halfway between skepticism and a private fear.

"…only…?" Neo urged, interested by this underlying sense of disbelief in his own words. Edward swallowed hard and squinted at the table.

"Only…I don't actually remember having fallen asleep again. It's just…blank from that point forward until I woke up on the floor of that room."

Neo said nothing, only sat with his left arm draped across his waist, left hand tucked under his right elbow. His right hand rested against his chin, thumb hooked under it while the side of his curled forefinger pressed against his lips. His expression was searchingly curious. Edward shifted uncomfortably in his chair, nervous under that intense, probing gaze. He could feel his stomach doing flip-flops and he didn't much care for it. He didn't care much, either, for the man across the table that could so completely unnerve him with just a look. Who was this guy?

"You're scared…aren't you?"

It was a statement more than a question, and the quiet, matter-of-factness to Neo's tone of voice had Edward blinking hard at the man before forcing a dubious expression onto his face.

"Scared?? Of what??"

Neo leaned forward onto the table, clasping his hands together, his eyes never leaving the youth's face. Edward's eyes moved about, unable to meet that searching stare.

"You're scared that maybe what they say is true."

Edward's eyes widened a bit and he swallowed hard, hands unconsciously clenching into fists. He suddenly looked a lot like a scared rabbit trapped in a lion's den.

"But it's not," he replied in a voice that sounded feeble even to him. Neo just smirked.

"But you worry that it might be true. Because you can't remember what happened. Isn't that right?"

Anger took over with surprising suddenness, which seemed to be the kid's default reaction to fear. No better way to cover it, Neo thought in a bemused way.

"What do _you_ think?!" the youth spat.

"I think," Neo said in a slow and careful way, "that you're a kid who's 15-going-on-16 and that you're scared because you can't remember how you got to the house and you can't remember trying to kill Doctor Wilson, and you're petrified that either they're right or that you'll take the fall for this because you don't have a better defense than 'I don't know'. What do you think?"

"I think," Edward responded through a mouthful of bitterness, "that you're full of crap and you don't know what the hell you're talking about. I'm not _scared_, I'm pissed off!! Because I didn't try to kill anybody and everybody is ready to send me to jail for a crime I didn't commit."

Neo just smirked and suddenly stood up, gathering up his papers and coffee cup.

"Not everyone," he said, taking a swig of his drink. Edward raised a blonde eyebrow at him, once again on the defense in the face of this surprising man's actions.

"Colonel Mustang sends his regards."

He smiled into his cup at the reaction on the kid's face and then pointed at him.

"We'll pick this up later. I've got some investigating to do, but I wanted to hear your side from your own mouth. See ya around, kid."

Edward just blinked at the door after Neo exited the room.

"That was the weirdest conversation I've ever had," he said to the MP who ushered him up towards the door to lead him back to his cell.


	3. Chapter 3

**Conviction of Character**

**A Fullmetal Alchemist fanfiction**

**Written by Shadow-Mage-Evelyn 2009**

**PART THREE**

The Wilson house was a quaint little tan-and-rusty-brown-brick structure with two floors and a wrap-around porch. A wooden porch swing moved gently in the breeze to the far right of the front window of the house, making the quietest of creaking noises as the old, well used chains groaned. Four medium sized, reddish orange pots sat in the sun along the walkway and were full of mums, which bloomed nicely this time of year. Neo paused to admire them for a few moments, which caused Arilyn to simply roll her eyes. She and one of Neo's other subordinates, Second Lieutenant Tim O'Brien—a portly man with round glasses, disheveled brown hair and a SLR camera hanging around his meaty neck—moved past their superior officer up the walk towards the red-painted front door, and as she tapped on it with the brass knocker, Neo meandered up to her side, sliding his hands into his pockets and peering up and down the street.

The Wilsons lived in one of East City's few suburban areas; picturesque, gated communities where everyone knew everyone and gossiped about everything everyone did. Neo could see a few people sitting on their porches and looking towards the Wilson house. This was a community free of violence. This latest event had surely rocked the place back on its heels.

The door to the house opened and revealed a middle-aged woman of medium build and height with shoulder length auburn hair that was streaked through with gray. She wore a peach-colored sweater and a conservative grey skirt and a string of pearls glinted in the sunlight around her throat. Her hazel eyes had a sort of haunted look to them, though the corners of her eyes and mouth had a few laugh lines around them.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Mrs. Wilson?" Arilyn replied, to which the woman nodded. "I'm First Lieutenant Arilyn Curtis. This is Second Lieutenant Timothy O'Brien, and this is our commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Neo Kaichi. We're from the Southeast Command, with Internal Investigations. If we could have just a few minutes of your time, ma'am, we'd like to ask you a few questions about the events of two nights ago."

"Oh," the woman said, sounding somewhat relieved. Neo felt a little sorry for her. She seemed like a nice, respectable woman who hadn't slept well in the last few nights, worried and scared for her husband whom she genuinely loved.

"Please," she said, moving back from the doorway and gesturing with her hand. "Please, do come in."

"Thank you, ma'am," Arilyn replied, and she and Tim stepped into the house. Neo followed along behind, looking around the marble-and-mahogany foyer, eyes moving up the stairwell and back down in enough time to see Mrs. Wilson ushering them towards the sitting room to the left.

"Please make yourselves comfortable while I fetch my husband," she said.

"Thank you very much," Neo replied, moving past her and plopping himself down into a plush green chair. Arilyn placed herself carefully onto the couch facing into the room, the front window at her back, while Tim sat down beside her. A coffee table sat between them and another couch which faced towards the window. Neo fidgeted around in his chair, changing positions in a way only small children did when trying to decide how to best imitate what they saw adults do, which had Arilyn casting him an annoyed look and Mrs. Wilson took in his actions with a look of concern.

"I'll only be a moment," she said.

"Take your time," Neo replied in a nonchalant tone, waving down her worry with a motion of his hand. With another look of concern and confusion, Mrs. Wilson left the room.

When she was gone, Neo ignored Arilyn's warning look and leaned his head back against the headrest of the chair, looking in an upside-down fashion at the bookshelves behind him. One set of shelves were lined with rows upon rows of imposing-looking books, hardbound in black leather casings, gold leaf inlaid into the titles. The Lieutenant Colonel then rolled his eyes to the right and perked his head up when he saw a shelf full of assorted bells. He rose from his chair to take a closer look just as Mrs. Wilson returned with her husband.

Doctor Malcolm Wilson was a psychologist with a thriving practice in East City, and he looked the part. He was perhaps two or three inches taller than Neo's 5 foot 9 inch height, with dark hair going gray at the temples, a strong jaw line and athletic build. He wore a white cotton dress shirt with long sleeves under a navy blue sweater vest and a pair of light tan dress slacks. He gave Neo a smile and a firm handshake and then moved towards the couch, pausing to give Arilyn and Tim, who had stood up when he'd entered, a similar greeting.

"Thanks for coming," the doctor said.

"Thank you for having us, sir," Arilyn replied, and she, Tim, the doctor, and his wife sat down. Neo, meanwhile, remained standing, his hands in his pockets as he leaned forward to peer at the bells on the shelf.

"We're taking over the investigation of your case, and we just wanted to ask you a few questions so we can be sure our reports have the facts correct," Arilyn said, taking charge when Neo didn't seem to have any interest in doing so. The doctor blinked a moment and then nodded.

"Alright. What do you need to know?"

"Well, let's start from the beginning. Can you explain what occurred that night?"

Wilson nodded.

"My wife and I went to bed early that night, around 9 o'clock or so. My son was in the next room. We were awakened around 4:30 by a loud noise from somewhere in the house. I was about to get up to investigate when suddenly that Elric kid came into the room with one of our large carving knives."

"This is the knife?"

Arilyn pushed a photograph of an impressive looking blade roughly 7 inches in length. Wilson looked it and then nodded.

"Yes. He rushed over to me and took a stab. I blocked it with my pillow and when I pulled the pillow aside, the knife got lodged and went with the pillow."

Arilyn placed a photo of the crime scene, showing a pillow on the floor beside the bed with a knife lodged in it, and Wilson nodded again.

"Yes. That's right. That's when the young man leaped for me and started swinging with his left fist."

The three investigators perked up.

"Just his left hand?" Neo repeated. The doctor turned to him and nodded, making a face that seemed a little unsure.

"Yes."

"You're positive about that?"

"Fairly positive, yes."

"Interesting…" Neo said to himself. "You used to be a member of the military?"

The doctor nodded sort of slowly, surprised by this sudden shift in the conversation.

"Yes. I retired early. About two years ago."

"Why was that?"

"I developed a heart condition."

Neo nodded in understanding, moving over to stand beside Arilyn.

"You were a psychologist then?"

"Yes, sir. I mainly did psychological evaluations of incoming recruits."

"Mmhmm. And what is it that you do now?"

"Private practice. Mainly trauma victims."

Neo plucked a piece of paper from the folder in Arilyn's lap.

"According to this report, you specialize in hypnotherapy?"

Wilson nodded.

"That's correct."

"Your main technique involves triggering things with sound, yes?"

"Yes."

"So these bells over here," Neo said, moving back towards the shelf holding the delicate objects. "You use them in your practice?"

"Oh no," he said. "Those are just my wife's collection. They've just been sitting there gathering dust for years."

"They're priceless antiques," said Mrs. Wilson, eyes twinkling at her husband's grin. "Irreplaceable and certainly not to be handled by clumsy men."

"Indeed," Wilson chuckled and then turned back to Neo. "I use whistles."

"Ah," Neo said, putting his hands back into his pockets. "Thank you."

The doctor watched him as he meandered aimlessly around the room, studying the pictures in frames hanging on the wall to his left. Arilyn cleared her throat then and shifted in her seat, flipping to another page in the report in her lap.

"Okay…so after he started attacking you, what happened?"

"Our son heard my husband's shouting and came running into the room in enough time to pull the young man off and then put him on the floor," said Mrs. Wilson.

"I'm sorry," Neo interrupted, coming over to stand beside the Wilsons. "Your son…is he here now?"

"No, he's in class right now," Mrs. Wilson answered.

"Oh…oh…" Neo said, shifting about for a moment and scuffing his boot against the floor boards before peeking at Mrs. Wilson through his bangs. "How old is he?"

"23."

"So he's attending a university?"

"Yes. He's studying psychology."

"Ah," Neo said with a grin. "Going to take over the family business someday, hmm?"

Wilson couldn't help the proud smile that spread across his face.

"One can only hope," he said.

"And I guess you…you've taught him some hypnotherapy techniques, right?"

"Of course. He expressed interest in it early on, so I taught him a little bit here and there."

Neo nodded.

"So your wife managed to call Military Police during all this chaos and it was shortly after that that they showed up and made the arrest, correct?" he asked.

"Yes, that's correct," the doctor replied while his wife nodded.

"Great. Would you two mind showing Lieutenant Curtis the crime scene so she can check everything out?"

"Not at all," the doctor said. "Right this way, Lieutenant."

The three moved out of the room and Tim moved to follow Arilyn, but Neo stopped him.

"No, no. Come here."

"What's up, boss?" Tim asked.

"This. Take a picture of these bells for me, and a few angles of this shelf in particular."

"Why?"

"I'll explain later. Just do it for me, please."

"Yes, sir," the portly man said with a shrug, and then lifted the camera. Five clicks later, Arilyn and the Wilsons returned and Neo nudged Tim, who immediately put his camera back down on his chest.

"Alright, well, I think everything is in order," the Lieutenant Colonel said. "Thank you very much for your time."

"You're very welcome. I hope we get this settled soon," said the doctor, shaking each of their hands.

"We'll be in touch. Have a good day."

The three walked out and when the front door closed shut behind them, Arilyn looked over at her superior officer.

"You're on to something, aren't you?"

Neo didn't look at her, just slid his hands into his pockets as he walked towards the car.

"Things are beginning to take shape. I'm just not sure what that is just yet. When we get back to the dorms, I'll need to take a look over that report and those photos again. And at some point, I suspect I'll need to talk with young Mr. Wilson."

Arilyn gave him a searching look, but as usual couldn't decipher anything from the puzzling blonde man. She shrugged and slid into the car. When he was ready, he would reveal everything to her.

In the back of the car, Neo hid a private smile. Things were adding up, indeed and in a very intriguing way.


	4. Chapter 4

**Conviction of Character**

**A Fullmetal Alchemist fanfiction**

**Written by Shadow-Mage-Evelyn 2009**

**PART FOUR**

"Here."

A coffee mug suddenly appeared in Neo's line of vision. He was sitting on the floor of the military dormitory that he and his team were staying in while they were in East City, mushed between the couch and the coffee table, chin resting on his folded arms. He looked up to the owner of the hand who had delivered the mug and met Arilyn's inquisitive brown eyes.

"Thanks," he said, sitting up and removing his glasses, rubbing his eyes for a moment before sipping the dark brown liquid. He made a face then and set the cup back down.

"Mmm. I forgot how badly they make a cup of coffee around here."

Arilyn grinned and sat down in one of the two chairs on either end of the coffee table. Papers and photos were spread all over the tabletop with small notes written in Neo's looping, flourishing handwriting attached with paperclips to things of interest. Neo's blue coat was draped haphazardly across the back of the couch where he'd thrown it upon his arrival. The woman shook her head, pushing some of her long brown hair behind her ear. She would never understand his habits, but somehow they worked and he always got the job done. The eccentricity of geniuses, she reminded himself.

"So how's it going? You find anything of interest?"

"I might," he said, pulling a piece of paper to the top of the pile. "Have we been able to get in touch with the son?"

"Not yet. He always seems to be in class."

"Send Kai on it," Neo said, referring to another of his underlings. "He'll pin him down."

"No doubt."

She crossed her legs and stared hard at Neo.

"You know…Tim's got himself locked in his dark room developing prints of photos you asked him to take. What were they of?"

Neo looked up at her open mouthed, shifting about.

"Uh…the wife's bell collection. You know it's interesting," he said, pointing at the paper in front of him.

"What is?"

"The son's testimony."

"From the original crime report?"

"Yeah. There are a lot of inconsistencies in his testimony as opposed to that of his parents."

"Oh?"

"Mmm. See, in our victim's testimony, young Edward is holding the carving knife in his left hand and then proceeds to beat up the doctor with his empty left. The son, however, says that upon arrival into the room he says the suspect was holding it in his right hand."

Arilyn shrugged and ran a hand over her scalp, pulling her hair back out of her eyes.

"Maybe he got confused. He was seeing him from the back, so he just said right instead of left."

"Which would have made sense, but they would have been facing the same direction."

Arilyn blinked for a moment, until Neo got up and moved to stand behind her chair.

"You're Ed and I'm the son, right?"

"Right."

"We're facing the same direction, so my left hand is on the same side as yours."

Arilyn nodded.

"No way to get that confused," she said.

"Exactly. Plus, Edward's right arm is automail, and he wasn't wearing gloves that night by all accounts. So, that's another identifying feature. The other thing that bothers me. The doctor and his wife testify that the son came into the room _after_ the doctor dislodged the knife and threw the impaled pillow on the floor."

"So how could he know which hand was holding the knife if it was already out of Edward's hands?" Arilyn finished and Neo pointed at her nodding.

"Right. And finally, the coup de grace. The doctor and his wife say that they were awakened by a loud noise and then suddenly our suspect enters the room."

Arilyn's eyes glittered.

"What does the son say?"

Neo smirked at her.

"He says he heard nothing until his father shouted in the next room."

Arilyn pursed her lips.

"Heavy sleeper, maybe?"

Neo shook his head, flopping onto the couch.

"Our young psychologist-to-be said he was up late studying at the time."

Arilyn grinned and Neo mirrored it.

"You know what this means," she said.

"Yes I do," Neo replied, putting his glasses back on. "But there are still a few things I have left to prove."

At that moment, Tim O'Brien came into the room with a few photographs.

"Here, boss. The photos you wanted," he said, handing them to Neo.

"Ah. Thank you very much, Tim."

Silently, the blonde man studied the photographs, pressing his right hand to his mouth as he did so. Tim and Arilyn exchanged glances, but said nothing. When Neo flipped to the third photograph, one of a close up of two bells, he suddenly grinned.

"Excellent," he said, and then began gathering up the photos.

"What is it?" Arilyn said.

"More evidence. Come along, everyone," he said, sliding into his blue jacket and taking a swig of coffee. He wrinkled his face.

"God, that is foul stuff," he said. "Remind me to teach Colonel Mustang how to make a proper pot of coffee."

He moved past the two, buttoning his coat with the file folder between his teeth. They just shrugged and followed out after him.

* * *

Master Sergeant Kai Ozu was a very tall, very lean man with black hair that he slicked back on his head. His facial features were strong and sharp, and his sharply angular eyebrows seemed locked in an eternally angry expression. He was unnervingly silent at all times, but had an uncanny ability to dig up just about anything in a matter of hours whenever asked. Originally from Xing, there were rumors floating around that he used to work for Xing's Royal Family. Neo didn't really care that much, only knew that when Kai was on the job, it would get done and done well.

Beside Kai stood Sergeant Suki Myou, a small, impish creature with an award winning smile. With a slim frame and a height of only 5 feet 3 inches, she didn't look intimidating. Throw in an unruly mop of curly blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes, and she reminded Neo of a china doll. A doll with a penchant for high explosives, he reminded himself. Suki was highly trained in disarming bombs—but only because she knew how to build them, too. She was also a highly skilled marksman. However, her real talent laid in gathering intelligence. No one could bug a phone faster or more efficiently than Suki Myou.

Neo strode up to where they were standing outside Eastern Headquarters.

"You find him?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," Suki answered. "They've got him in a room waiting for you right now."

Neo started walking into the building.

"Oh, and Rosaline wants to talk to you about her findings. She's in the lab right now."

"Oh! Great! I'll see her first."

Suki grinned as they headed down the hall towards the labs.

"Ohhhh…gonna see the pretty one first, huh?"

"Well, I dunno. Is he prettier than Rosaline?"

Suki smirked.

"I didn't think he was your type, sir," she replied sardonically. Neo smiled nonchalantly.

"I like to keep my options open," he said, opening the door for her.

"Where I come from, sir, you would be called a right straight hound dog."

"Where you come from, Sergeant, anyone who looks at another person funny is considered a right straight hound dog."

Suki had to laugh at that one.

They entered the lab a minute later, pushing open the door to reveal Major Rosaline Thomas, a pretty young woman in her late twenties. Long, curly, honey gold hair fell a little past her shoulders, held back by a clip in a ponytail. A few stray curls fell around her face, framing smooth features with high cheekbones and a slightly upturned nose. She looked up at her visitors in surprise.

"Ah," she said. "Lieutenant Colonel. I'm glad you're here. I've got some things you may want to look at."

"Alright," Neo said, coming over to her side. She handed over some charts.

"I've been looking over the evidence that was collected. Mostly fibers and hair and things. Edward's DNA was definitely at the crime scene, and his fingerprints were definitely on the knife."

"So it was definitely in his left hand," said Neo, throwing Arilyn a glance and she smirked in response. Rosaline nodded.

"Right. However, I looked at these bells you asked me to collect, and you were right. The fingerprints don't match Edward's or the doctor's."

"Whose are they?" he asked.

"Well, I only managed to get a partial print because whoever handled them before had wiped them away."

"Okay. But whose are they?"

She smiled at him.

"How attractive am I to you right now?"

Neo smirked.

"That depends on what your answer is."

She handed him another piece of paper without saying a word. He read it quietly, then suddenly broke into a grin.

"Major, did I mention just how radiant you look today?" he asked her. She smiled.

"Why, no, sir. What a nice thing to say."

Neo slid the papers into the folder and headed for the door.

"Thank you very much, Major!"

She just waved at his back as the others hurried to follow him out the door and down the hall.

"Now what??" Arilyn demanded. "Are you going to share what you've learned with the rest of the class?"

"Yes, Lieutenant Colonel," said a cool, hard feminine voice. "Please do share with the rest of us what you've managed to find out."

Neo froze mid-step and then turned with a smug grin to face a very attractive woman. She was dressed in military blues with a skirt that stopped at the knee and a pair of legs that were, in Neo's opinion, to die for. Her dark auburn hair was pulled back into an elegant twist save a few locks that were too short that fell around to frame her face. A pair of round glasses sat perched on her nose, and a pair of intelligent sapphire blue eyes stared hard at Neo's face. She stood with her arms crossed over her chest and overall didn't look terribly pleased.

Still grinning, Neo sidled up to her.

"How nice to see you again, Colonel! I do believe you've gotten more stunning since the last time we saw one another. How have you been?"

"Cut the crap, Neo," she demanded, dropping a hand to her left hip. "When you took over this case, did it ever occur to you that you needed to inform _me_?!"

"Oh," said the Lieutenant Colonel as innocently as possible, putting a finger against his lips. "Huh…must have slipped my mind."

"I'll bet it did," the woman said, rolling her eyes.

"What's going on here?" said Roy Mustang as he walked up to the group standing in his hallway.

"Ah! Colonel Mustang! Great! We're all here!!"

"Uh huh," the Colonel said, turning to face the dark haired woman in front of Neo. "And who might you be?"

She held out a hand.

"Colonel Ada Malone. I'm from the Legal Department."

Roy gave her a stern look after shaking her hand, clasping his hands behind his back.

"What took you so long to get here, Colonel?" he asked.

"I apologize for my tardiness, Colonel," she replied. "I would have been here sooner if _someone _had done their job and told me there were investigating a new case."

"Mm. Seems to be a lot of that going on around here."

Both Colonels turned hard stares upon Neo, who shook a finger at them with a _tsk_ing noise.

"Now, now, you two," he said. "No need to get your knickers in a twist. I've just about got this case wrapped up and you're just in time to see me bust the bad guy!"

"And that would be _who_, exactly?" Ada asked.

"_Whom_, Colonel," Neo corrected, moving past her down the hallway. "'That would be _whom_'."

Ada only rolled her eyes at Neo's back.

"Alright, folks," Neo said, opening the door to the room. "Sit back and enjoy the show."

With that, he entered the room.


	5. Chapter 5

**Conviction of Character**

**A Fullmetal Alchemist fanfiction**

**Written by Shadow-Mage-Evelyn 2009**

**PART FIVE**

"You, sir, are a very lucky man."

Edward looked up at Neo, blinking in surprise.

"I am?"

"Yes. And do you know why?"

The young man shook his head and Neo smiled at him.

"Because you have me on the case. Tell me something. That night, when you said something woke you up. What was it that woke you up?"

Edward just stared at him.

"Was it a sound? A sound that you don't normally hear?"

The young man nodded slowly.

"Yes," he said. "It was a sound."

"What kind of sound?"

"I…"

"Come on, think. It was a sound you don't normally hear. What was it?"

Edward shook his head.

"I don't…"

Neo slammed his hands onto the table, startling the young man and causing him to flinch back in his chair. The man pointed at him.

"You _do _know!! Think!!"

"What do you want from me?!" Edward demanded angrily. "I don't remember!!"

"But you_ do_!! It's right there! Right there at the edge of your consciousness!!"

Edward shook his head, prompting Neo to move around behind him.

He gripped the young man's shoulders and leaned close to his ear.

"Close your eyes," he said in a voice that was barely more than a whisper and even in tone. Edward unwittingly found himself following the order, though he didn't know why.

"Now think back to that night. You're lying in bed, fast asleep. You can hear the floorboards creaking, but that's normal. It's probably just Alphonse walking around. Pipes murmur and pop in the wall beside you, but that doesn't wake you up. That's just the foundation settling as usual."

Edward squeezed his eyes shut tighter and, without changing the pitch of his voice, Neo continued.

"It's very quiet. Suddenly…you hear a sound that you've never heard before, and it wakes you up."

He felt Edward's shoulders stiffen under his hands. They were very close now.

"What is that sound, Edward? What did you hear that night?"

Edward's eyes popped open all of the sudden in a look caught between horror and relief.

"A bell," he said in a distant voice. "I heard a bell."

Neo squeezed his left shoulder encouragingly.

"And after that? What happened after that?"

"I sat up and saw this guy…just…standing there. I…I didn't recognize him."

"What did the man do, Edward? What did he say?"

Edward's eyes were focused on something that no one else could see. He squinted at it.

"He…he didn't say anything. He held something up in one hand…something small…and round…on a chain…"

The youth faltered for a second.

"I…" he choked. "I'm not…"

"Come on, Edward," Neo breathed urgently. "What did the man do to you?"

The youth was trembling now, whole body trying to force the memory into place.

"He did something…something that made me feel like I was asleep but awake at the same time. Like I was in a dream or something. He commanded me to get up and I…I did…and then I followed him…followed him to…"

"To where?"

Edward's eyes shut again.

"A house. The Wilson house!"

His voice was that of someone finally coming awake. His eyes, when they looked at Neo, were clear.

"I followed him into the Wilsons' house where he handed me the knife and told me to kill Doctor Wilson," he said firmly. Neo was smiling widely.

"Who, Edward? Who did you follow?"

Edward's eyes were shining with triumph.

"James Wilson," he said, "the son of Malcolm and Renee Wilson."

A loud commotion erupted outside of the room, but Neo just patted Edward on the shoulder.

"Well done, Edward," he said, and then he gestured for the MP standing by. "You're free to go."

Edward blinked as Neo headed for the door, but held up his hands so the MP could unlock his shackles.

"Wait, hold on," he said, rubbing his left wrist once it was free. "I still tried to kill him, didn't I?"

Neo turned to him with a smile.

"No, Edward, you didn't. You weren't the murderer. You were merely the tool for it."

Edward shook his head.

"I don't understand."

"You were hypnotized," the older blonde man said. "By a very talented hypnotist."

The youth couldn't hide his look of utter confusion.

"Huh?!"

Neo helped him up out of his chair with a grin, leading him out the door of the room where two MPs stood holding James Wilson, the elusive son of Malcolm Wilson between them. The young man had a thoroughly enraged expression on his face, but he had given up fighting. Roy, Alphonse, Doctor and Mrs. Wilson, and Ada stood off to the one side, Neo's and Roy's subordinates standing behind them.

"Malcolm Wilson," Neo said in a voice loud enough for the benefit of all those present, "is a hypnotherapist. This means that he hypnotizes his patients, causing them to relax their defenses enough so that whatever question he asks them, they can answer without inhibition, like they normally would when asked without being under hypnosis.

"Young Mr. Wilson, here, learned a few of his father's techniques, including using sound to trigger a hypnotic episode. Doctor Wilson will sometimes play a record of various sounds, hoping to trigger a memory that, even under hypnosis, the patient keeps locked away. He will then blow a whistle to bring them out of the hypnosis."

"How does he do that?" Ada asked, skeptical. "Put them under hypnosis, I mean."

"It's fairly easy to hypnotize someone, wouldn't you say, Doctor?"

Doctor Wilson nodded.

"Certainly. Usually doesn't take any more than 5 to 10 seconds to hypnotize even the most guarded of persons."

Neo put an arm around Edward's shoulders.

"Just a few minutes ago, I was able to hypnotize Edward, here."

Everyone watched as Edward's face turned a curious shade of pink.

"_You hypnotized me??"_ he said in a slightly shrill voice, and Neo nodded firmly.

"Yes, I did. You haven't been sleeping well, so I took advantage of the fact that your guard was down around your normally well-protected psyche. And I didn't need any fancy devices, like a watch or a bauble to swing in front of your face. The tone of my voice proved to be sufficient."

"So then you convinced him to accuse me," said Wilson, but Neo was shaking his head before the words had fully left the man's mouth.

"Not at all. Firstly, Edward didn't have to go that far under to recall the events of two nights ago. Secondly, all that I did was ask him a series of questions and then sit back and watch it all unfold."

Edward nodded accordingly, relaxing a bit.

"That's true," he said. "All you did was ask questions."

"Right. Now, normally when one uses hypnosis, they have to lull their intended victim into a defenseless state. It's a state somewhere between wakefulness and sleep, where the victim's body and mind are completely relaxed and open. After that, it's just the power of suggestion."

"Like telling someone to cluck like a chicken," Roy said with a smirk, and Neo answered him with a similar expression.

"Precisely like that, yes. In this case, Edward, half-asleep, was easy prey for our young Mr. Wilson. His guard was already way down, having only just woken up from sleep, so it only took a matter of seconds to have Edward completely under his control. He then suggested to Edward that he should follow him to the Wilson house where he made another suggestion that perhaps Edward should kill the good doctor."

"What tipped you off that it was hypnosis? Could they not have been working together?" said Ada.

"It was something the doctor said. You remember, don't you, Arilyn? What the doctor said about what Edward did after he lost the knife?"

"He said that Edward proceeded to attack him with his left fist and only his left fist," Arilyn replied, and Neo nodded.

"What does that have anything to do with it?" Ada pressed.

"Everything," Neo said. He then looked at Edward.

"Edward, tell me something. When you get up in the morning, do you have trouble moving your automail limbs?"

Edward blinked at him a little before nodding.

"Yeah. Sometimes my arm and leg are a little slow to respond and drag a little. But how would you know that?"

"I know a few people with automail limbs. Some of the few friends I have that aren't books," Neo replied with a wink, garnering a smile from Edward. "They often tell me how their limbs can be a bit sluggish in the morning until their brain gets moving at full power."

"So under hypnosis," Ada supplied, understanding, "Edward's body would think he was asleep and his automail wouldn't work properly."

Neo pointed at her.

"Bingo," he said. "Colonel Malone wins the prize. Edward's automail wasn't functioning properly, so when he started to beat on the good doctor, only his left hand was swinging."

Everyone took a moment to step back and digest it all.

"But then…" Arilyn spoke up. "How did he get Edward out from under the hypnosis?"

"Remember that strange noise that the doctor and his wife heard just before their son entered the room to subdue Edward?" Neo said with a broad grin. "It was a bell from his mother's collection. When a hypnotist puts you under, he usually tells you something along the lines of 'when you hear me clap my hands three times, you'll wake up', doesn't he? In this case, young Mr. Wilson used one of his mother's bells to make sure that Edward was awake so that no one would be able to realize his deception.

"What I still don't know, though," the man continued, turning to the younger Wilson, "is _why_ you would try to have your father killed in the first place."

"Yes, son," Doctor Wilson spoke up, his expression saddened and hurt. "Why would you do such a thing?"

The young man glared furiously at his father.

"Because all my life, all you could talk about was how I was supposed to grow up and become a great psychologist like you! You couldn't stop talking about how great it would be for the two of us to share an office and help people!! I didn't want to be a psychologist, Dad!! And I didn't want to take over your stupid practice either!!"

"_That's_ the reason?!" Edward spoke up suddenly. "_That's_ why you dragged me into this hair-brained scheme of yours that got me three nights in a prison hellhole?! Because you didn't want to follow in Daddy's footsteps?!"

"Yeah!! What about it?!" the younger Wilson replied.

Edward just stared at him in blank incredulity.

"You are," he said, "without a doubt the _dumbest_ criminal I have ever met."

Neo smirked.

"Take him away, boys," he said to the MPs, who quickly ushered their prisoner off down the hallway. He then turned to Roy Mustang.

"Now then," he said. "It's time we settled this business about what you owe me…"

Everyone had to laugh at the thoroughly displeased look that crossed over Roy's face.

**END**

**A.N.--Not my best work, admittedly, but this whole thing was just a way to introduce you to some of my characters. And to have a little fun with Neo, who is the love child of Sherlock Holmes and Dectective Goren on Law and Order: Criminal Intent.**

**Hope you enjoyed it, despite the craptacular ending. I'm so out of practice...**


End file.
